Report on the support mision to the Coconut Agronomy & Farming System section of the Cocoa & Coconut Institute. Papua New Guinea, Stewart Research Station, Madang

Under 2003 programming by the French Embassy in Port Moresby, a multidisciplinary mission by an entomologist, Dr L. Ollivier, and an agronomist, Mr J. Ollivier from the CIRAD Tree Crops Department, was undertaken from 3 to 16 March 2004 at the Cocoa and Coconut Institute's Stewart Research Station in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The mission was used to take stock of the agronomy and farming systems activities being conducted by CCI at SRS, and in the COGENT participatory research network. Observations of the ongoing trials continued in 2003 and data were collected for analysis, the main results of which are presented in this report. Given budgetary restraints, it was not possible to fulfil some of the recommendations made at the time of the previous mission (fertilizer applications, leaf analyses). Some reorganization of the experimental design is proposed. In methodology terms, a presentation of the first results obtained using Olympe software to manage experimental data (also presented in the report) aroused a great deal of interest from our agronomy partners. Its use could be extended to processing data from on-farm participatory trials. The budget awarded by MOFA for 2004, which is in sharp decline, will not be enough to fund a CIRAD support mission in 2004 but could contribute towards our Papuan partners attending an international conference in Australia next August, where they would present work undertaken jointly with CIRAD. Restructuring of the research and extension services and their merger in 2003 to form the Cocoa and Coconut Institute (CC[) has led to a certain number of organizational changes: creation of a new organizational flow chart with 5 divisions (Cocoa Division, Coconut Division, Industry, Commercial and Corporate services). Mr. W. Akus, Coconut Division Head, expressed his desire to see collaboration with CIRAD continue in the form of regular support missions and training for CCI researchers at CIRAD. These links would make it possible to support CCI research activities in experimental data management and processing, draw up new research projects together, and disseminate the results obtained in scientific publications and articles

Yield Performance of Locally Selected Cocoa Clones in North Luwu

Participatory selection in North Luwu District selected some locally cocoa clones, of which MCC 01 and MCC 02 the most promising to be developed as clonal material. This research has objectives to observe the stability performance of yield of these clones that enable be characterized of the potency as the basis for recommendation. Observation were carried out in 35 selected-farms be differentiated according to clone\u27s type, namely MCC 01, MCC 02 and Sulawesi 01 (control) and the year of planting (age). These farms were establised at the main area of cocoa in North Luwu. The assessed variables were the number of pod, yield components, the resistance to cocoa pod borer (CPB), vascular-streak dieback (VSD) and phytophthora pod rot (PPR). Data were recorded through 20 sampled-trees per farm in the period of April 2013 to April 2014 with monthly basis assessment. Data were analyzed refer to Eberhart & Russel method to perform stability parameters of the yield. The results indicate that these clones stable performing yield potency among plant age. MCC 01 and MCC 02 performed yield potency in amount of 3,682 kg/ha and 3,132 kg/ha respectively higher than Sulawesi 01 of 2,772 kg/ha. Evaluation of the resistance, MCC 01 having moderate resistance to CPB and VSD and resistance to PPR, however MCC 02 having resistance to CPB, VSD and PPR. Referring to the potency thus MCC 01 and MCC 02 were legally recommended as clonal material for farmers, restricted at the agroclimatic area similar to the condition in North Luwu

FARMERS' ACCESSIBILITY AND USE OF HYBRID COCOA SEEDLINGS FOR COCOA REHABILITATION: EMPIRICAL RESULTS FROM AMENFI CENTRAL DISTRICT, GHANA

The introduction of hybrid seedlings of cocoa by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) was intended to replace old and diseased trees which were less productive. We conducted a study to investigate the accessibility and use of hybrid cocoa seedlings (Series II, the Modified Series II, Inter Amazon, Trinitario, Clones, Criollo and Nacional) for the cocoa rehabilitation exercise. Working with 385 cocoa farmers selected from the Amenfi Central District using the multi-stage sampling technique, we analyzed the data with statistical tools such as the mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, multiple linear regression and chi-square test of independence. Based on the general perception of the cocoa farmers (PI=3.71), we found that they had positive perceptions of the improved hybrid cocoa seedlings. Cocoa farmers’ access to all the hybrid cocoa seedlings is significantly associated with their use (P<0.05). We also found that cocoa farmers who were highly experienced and had small farm sizes had more access to and used hybrid cocoa seedlings (P<0.05). While, access to labour and ownership of lands had influence on access to hybrid cocoa seedlings (P<0.05), high yields and membership of cooperatives had influence on the use of hybrid cocoa seedlings (P<0.05). The lack of access to credit is indicated by farmers as their most severe challenge in accessing and using hybrid seedlings. The outcome of the study suggests that the cost of the hybrid seedlings must be subsidized and the distribution of the seedlings must be done through the farmer cooperatives to enhance accessibility and use

A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt

STCP tools for the rehabilitation of West African cocoa farms Cacao tree stocks in West Africa are mainly established from seeds procured from farmers’ fields. This planting material lacks the disease tolerance and yield potential of the hybrid seed. Productivity is also affected by the old age of West Africa’s tree stock. Replacing and rehabilitating the tree stocks of West Africa is fundamental to the achievement and long-run sustainability of a cocoa Brown Revolution. The STCP has developed a Planting, Replanting and Diversification (PRD) training package to provide farmers the knowledge and technical skills needed to rehabilitate old cocoa farms or reclaim degraded areas using hybrids. However, a major constraint to hybrid adoption is a lack of access to hybrid seeds. To overcome this constraint, STCP introduced a Seed Brokerage System (SBS) for the collective acquisition of hybrid seeds by farmer field school groups from government production units. An initial evaluation of 375 randomly selected trainees revealed that the mean participant had successfully established 0.4 ha of hybrid cocoa seedling with an 81% seedling survival rate after two dry seasons. Approximately half of the surveyed trainees had replanted old farms while half had established new farms on degraded fallow land. The SBS also brokered timber seedlings for farmers desiring to include high-value timber (Terminalia ivorensis and T. superb) as permanent shade in their production system. The mean participant reported the successful establishment of 12 timber seedlings which is equivalent to 30 trees per hectare. Farmers favored the SBS innovation and are seeking its continuance

Unlocking Barriers to Adoption and Scaling of Climate Smart Cocoa Practices in Ghana

Cocoa production in West Africa has been adversely affected by climate change at varying degrees. The cocoa farming areas in Ghana vary according to severity in impact of climate change and has been delineated into three climatic impact zones namely; Transform, cope and adjust zones. For years, cocoa industry technical experts have recommended Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) without considering the different farmer typologies across the climate impact zones. The Consultative Group for international Agricultural Research (CGIAR) through the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ghana recently documented and aligned climate smart cocoa (CSC) practices across the three impact zones to help farmers mitigate against the effect of Climate change. The aim of this study was to identify farmer typologies in the different climate impact zones and how this affect adoption of CSC recommendations. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire from 270 cocoa farming household on socio-economic characteristics and intensity of CSC implementation across. Preliminary findings from a principal component analysis using the R software statistical package showed three cluster of Cocoa farmers in the impact zones. The results also show varying intensity of implementation of CSC practices which determines the efficiency of the clusters. The first cluster of cocoa farmers is characterized as the least efficient in production in terms of Cocoa productivity (248.2793 kg/ha) and Cocoa income (USD 981.3244 per annuum) while the second cluster of farmers are the most efficient with the highest cocoa income (USD 3000.309 per annum) and Cocoa productivity (583.6498 kg/ha). The third Cluster represent farmers with the most resources in terms of land under cocoa (3.7 ha) and hired out labor (≃4 people from the household). In all clusters, access to hybrid seedlings, financial challenges and extension service delivery were identified as challenges hindering adoption of CSC recommendation. It is recommended that farmer typologies aligned with CSC recommendations in the climate impact zones should be taken into consideration for effective adoption

Coconut Phytophthora. Workshop proceedings, 26-30 October 1992, Manado, Indonesia

Ce séminaire sur le Phythophthora du cocotier avait pour but de réunir tous les acteurs d'un projet démarré en 1990 et de faire le point sur les études réalisées pour la connaissance et la lutte contre ce champignon. Ce projet a donné une grande priorité aux échanges d'informations et aux complémentarités entre les équipes de recherche européennes et tropicale

Towards the understanding of the cocoa transcriptome: Production and analysis of an exhaustive dataset of ESTs of Theobroma cacao L. generated from various tissues and under various conditions

Theobroma cacao L., is a tree originated from the tropical rainforest of South America. It is one of the major cash crops for many tropical countries. T. cacao is mainly produced on smallholdings, providing resources for 14 million farmers. Disease resistance and T. cacao quality improvement are two important challenges for all actors of cocoa and chocolate production. T. cacao is seriously affected by pests and fungal diseases, responsible for more than 40% yield losses and quality improvement, nutritional and organoleptic, is also important for consumers. An international collaboration was formed to develop an EST genomic resource database for cacao. Fifty-six cDNA libraries were constructed from different organs, different genotypes and different environmental conditions. A total of 149,650 valid EST sequences were generated corresponding to 48,594 unigenes, 12,692 contigs and 35,902 singletons. A total of 29,849 unigenes shared significant homology with public sequences from other species. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation was applied to distribute the ESTs among the main GO categories. A specific information system (ESTtik) was constructed to process, store and manage this EST collection allowing the user to query a database. To check the representativeness of our EST collection, we looked for the genes known to be involved in two different metabolic pathways extensively studied in other plant species and important for T. cacao qualities: the flavonoid and the terpene pathways. Most of the enzymes described in other crops for these two metabolic pathways were found in our EST collection. A large collection of new genetic markers was provided by this ESTs collection. This EST collection displays a good representation of the T. cacao transcriptome, suitable for analysis of biochemical pathways based on oligonucleotide microarrays derived from these ESTs. It will provide numerous genetic markers that will allow the construction of a high density gene map of T. cacao. This EST collection represents a unique and important molecular resource for T. cacao study and improvement, facilitating the discovery of candidate genes for important T. cacao trait variation. (Résumé d'auteur

Diversity and Management of Phytophthora in Southeast Asia

Crop Production/Industries,

The effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhiza species on growth of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) species in enhancing growth of cocoa seedlings. Cocoa seedlings of hybrid UITI X Na32 inoculated with Glomus mosseae and Seutellospora ealospora either as a single inoculum or as a mixed inoculum and an uninoculated control were grown in 2 kg sterilized Tai Tak series soil. The experiment was a single factor experiment arranged in a completely randomized design, with type of inoculum as a factor with four replications. Of the four treatment used, plants inoculated with mixed inoculum Glomus mosseae and Seutellospora ealospora gave more pronounced and significant vegetative growth and higher percentage of root colonization than the other treatments. Maximum plant height and total leaf area of43.7 cm and 1819.2 cm2 respectively were obtained from seedlings inoculated with mixed inoculum compared to seedlings given either G. mosseae (37.9 cm dan 1007.2 cm2 ) , or S. ealospora (32.3 cm and 1316 cm2 ) and control (28.5 cm and 736.7 cm2 ). The highest percentage of root colonization (72%) was aslo recorded from seedlings inoculated with mixed inoculum followed by those given S. ealospora (54%) and single inoculum G. mosseae (43%)

Analysis of Genotype by Environment Interaction on Cocoa Hybrids (Theobroma Cacao L.) Resistance to Phytophthora Pod Rot

Phenomenon of genotype by environment interaction was able to influence the stability performance of cocoa resistance to Phytophthora pod rot (PPR). This research had an objective to evaluate the effect of genotype by environment interaction on resistance of cocoa hybrids to PPR. The tested hybrids were F1 crosses between selected clones of TSH 858, Sulawesi 1, Sulawesi 2, NIC 7, ICS 13, KEE 2 and KW 165. There were 14 tested hybrids and an open pollinated hybrid of ICS 60 x Sca 12 was used as control in multilocation trials at four different agroclimatic locations, namely Jatirono Estate ((highland-wet climate), Kalitelepak Estate (lowland-wet climate), Kaliwining Experimental Station (low land-dry climate) and Sumber Asin Experimental Station (highland-dry climate). Trials were established in the randomized complete block design with four replications. Resistance to PPR were evaluated based on the percentage of infected pod for the years during wet climate of 2010 in Jatirono, Kalitelepak and Kaliwining followed in dry climate of 2011–2015 in Kaliwining and Sumber Asin. Variance of data were analyzed for detecting the effect of genotype by environment interaction (GxE) then visualized with a graph of genotype main effect and genotype by environment interaction (a graph of GGE) biplot. There was consistently no interaction effect between hybrid and location to PPR incidence which was affected by single factor of hybrid, year, location and interaction between year and location. The effect of year indicated yearly change of weather was more important to PPR incidence than location difference. A graph of GGE biplot indicated a stable performance of the tested hybrids among locations